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Why I Am A Closet Environmentalist
I have followed the environmentalist movement for over 30 years. It has some appeal. After all, who doesn't want to breathe clean air, drink clean water, eat fresh and nutritious food, and live in surroundings that are full of beautiful flora and fauna while drinking all-organic cask-conditioned beer.
However, many aspects of environmentalism, including many stereotypical ones, don't sit well with me. I hate tofu. I like my shoes to have closed toes. I get regular haircuts. Unlike my grandparents with their "paperless washrooms", I use toilet paper. I flush on every use. I drive a car because it is too cold to use a bicycle here, and I have too many kids to haul around on bikes. Also, I don't want to radically change my lifestyle to support environmentalism. I am even reluctant to make minor changes. But...I'm open to trying out convenient environmental ideas as experiments, especially if they will save me time and money.
So why write on this topic? Because I believe that there are many environmentalist ideas that can save you money and time, whether or not you are an environmentalist. I think that you can be an environmentalist without spending extra time or money or having to flaunt it. i.e. You too can be a closet environmentalist.
How To Use "Pink Solution"
Pink Solution is a great cleaning product for anybody who wants to save money and be environmentally friendly.
"Pink Solution" on eBay
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Bamboo Textiles
...very environmental...cost-effective...
Bamboo textiles are made out of bamboo fibers instead of cotton, polyester or whatever. Compared to cotton, bamboo is much friendlier to the environment, uses less pesticides, uses less water, and improves the soil.
Some sources suggest that bamboo clothes are cheaper than cotton, although the comparison is in high-end clothes. The big "plus" for bamboo clothes is that they are very soft, and compete with silk on that front.
As a closet environmentalist, bamboo offers the end-user enough financial benefit to make it worth trying. Think Bamboo Inc. sells some good bamboo stuff.
This Wikipedia article below goes into more detail about bamboo.
Bamboo textiles are cloth, yarn, and clothing made out of bamboo fibres. While historically used only for structural elements, such as bustles and the ribs of corsets, in recent years a range of technologies have been developed allowing bamboo fibre to be used in a wide range of textile and fashion applications. Modern bamboo clothing is clothing made from either 100% bamboo yarn or a blend of bamboo and cotton/organic cotton yarn. The bamboo yarn can also be blended with other textile fibres such as hemp or even spandex.
Rechargeable Batteries
....this one is easy....
Every year, we buy tons of batteries, usually not rechargeable. They are used for portable electronic devices, toys, etc.As a closet environmentalist, I use rechargeable batteries. I use fewer batteries, throw out fewer batteries, make fewer trips to Costco to buy batteries etc. Environmentally, this one is a no-brainer. Just buy them and use them. They pay for themselves over and over again.
The folks at Greenbatteries Store have some good reusable batteries if you prefer to get them online.
Compost to Save Money
Composting has cut down our garbage output a lot. All plant-based kitchen waste gets composted. I then realized that I needed another composter for garden waste. Over the years, I have acquired 4 composters for free from the city, neighbours, etc. The city never did follow through, but I built a habit of composting and reduced my landfill footprint without changing my lifestyle.
In the autumn I rake all my leaves into a big pile. Then instead of spending $20 in special garbage bags for leaves, I run over the leaves with a lawn mower, perhaps spending $10 in gas. That reduces the volume of the leaves by 80%. Those shredded leaves go straight into the composter.
The other benefit of composting is that I get nice-smelling compost every August that I can spread around my plants and trees. That in itself saves tens of dollars on fertilizer and packaged mud, manure, zoo-poo, etc.
Composting saves money, and it is "environmental". Try it!
Home Composting
You are supposed to turn the compost every so often, and maintain brown-green ratios, yada, yada, yada. You are also supposed to water it. I'm too lazy to do that. What I do is turn the compost about 3 times per year, and water comes from forgetting to put the lids on during fall and winter (letting it accumulate water). Even so, I still benefit.
These guys definitely do it better than I do.
Wikipedia on Composting
Composting is the purposeful biodegradation of organic matter, such as yard and food waste. The decomposition is performed by micro-organisms, mostly bacteria, but also yeasts and fungi.Compost microbes, Cornell Univ. In low temperature phases a number of macro-organisms, such as springtails, ants, nematodes, isopods and earthworms also contribute to the process, as well as soldier fly, fruit flies and fungus gnats. There are a wide range of organisms in the decomposer community.Compost consumers, Cornell Univ
* A biodegradable material is capable of being completely broken down under the action of microorganisms into carbon dioxide, water and biomass. It may take a very long time for some material to biodegrade depending on its environment (e.g. wood in an arid area versus paper in water), but it ultimately breaks down completely. Many contaminating materials not dealt with in common composting are in fact "biodegradeable", and may be dealt with via bioremediation, or other special composting approaches.Gypsum board composting
Category: Image - :123output.jpg|thumb|right| Stable bedding after shredding and three weeks of hot aerobic composting.
* A compostable material biodegrades substantially under specific composting conditions. It is metabolized by the microorganisms, being incorporated into the organisms or converted into humus. The size of the material is a factor in determining compostability, and mechanical particle size reduction can speed the process. Large pieces of hardwood may not be compostable under a specific set of composting conditions, whereas sawdust of the same type of wood may be. Some biodegradeable materials are only compostable under very specific conditions, usually with an industrial process.
Books on Composting
Worm Composting
...also known as vermiculture.
At one point I pushed past plain old composting and tried vermicomposting. It is really cool.Basically you get a box about 2 feet wide by 3 feet long by 2 feet deep, and no air holes. Inside you put soggy newspaper and kitchen compost, and perhaps a half pound of red wriggler worms. (They have to be red wrigglers because they are the only ones that eat uncomposted food). You cover it with a lid with a few air holes.
The worms then go to work. They live an idyllic life. They eat. They poo. They have hot worm sex. Here's how I know:
- The newspaper and food starts to disappear.
- The colour of the compost gets browner and browner and looks like mud.
- There are lots of worms lying together in the conjugal "11" position. (That's wormese for "69").
- Eventually, you see lots of baby worms.
The worms go through the food fast, and reproduce fast too. Eventually you must remove about 3/4 of the worms and compost, and refresh the compost with fresh new paper and kitchen waste. If you don't do this, the pH of the compost gets too low, and the worms get uncomfortable, and try to escape. This happened to me, and I had to get them out of the house, "or else". At that point, it was November, so I decided to dig a bit in my outdoor composter and throw the worms in. Some did live because in the spring, my composter was full of red wrigglers.
You can get red wrigglers in Canada and USA at wormcomposting.ca for $25-ish to get you going.
I am on the fence about vermicomposting. It takes a bit more time than I am able to invest, and I have not found a cheap source of red wrigglers. (Mind you, I haven't really looked either). However, if you have the time and find a cheap source of red wrigglers, then vermicomposting will make your compost much richer. This not a bad thing for a "Closet Environmentalist", but it is still a bit much for me for now.
Wikipedia on Vermiculture
Vermicompost is the product or process of composting utilizing various species of worms, specifically red wigglers, white worms, and earthworms creating the heterogeneous mixture of decomposing vegetable or food waste, bedding materials, and pure vermicast produced during the course of normal vermiculture operations. Vermicast, similarly known as worm castings, worm humus or worm manure, is the end-product of the breakdown of organic matter by the species of earthworm.
Containing water-soluble nutrients and bacteria, vermicompost is an excellent, nutrient-rich organic fertilizer and soil conditioner.Coyne, Kelly and Erik Knutzen. The Urban Homestead: Your Guide to Self-Sufficient Living in the Heart of the City. Port Townsend: Process Self Reliance Series, 2008. The process of producing vermicompost is called vermicomposting.
My Experience With CFC Light Bulbs
As a closet environmentalist, I took a good hard look at CFC light bulbs. They seemed attractive at first because the power consumption was about 1/3 of comparable incandescent light bulbs. I decided to try them out, even if they cost 4x as much as incandescents.The first ones were not great because they had the typical fluorescent blue-white light. However, over the years, soft white CFC bulbs (same colour as incandescent bulb light) have become cost-competitive with the blue-white ones.
Asides from that, they looked and worked the same if they were in an enclosure. So I had that warm fuzzy feeling that I was helping the environment and saving power.
I was pleasantly surprised at the replacement rates. With incandescent bulbs, I could count on changing light bulbs quite regularly around the house. WIth CFC bulbs, I hardly ever have to replace one. Others have said that these CFC bulbs last 10 times longer.
I then tried a CFC bulb that was supposed to work with a dimmer. It sucked. Most of the time it had a very noticeable flicker, and it didn't give consistent light levels for any particular dimmer setting. I threw it out and decided that all of my lights on dimmers would remain incandescent for now. Too bad.
Overall, the CFC bulb experience has been good as a closet environmentalist. Even if they are more expensive up front, their overall cost is less than half that of incandescent bulbs because they last so long. i.e. I save money. Also, since they last so long, I only spend about 20% as much time changing light bulbs. i.e. I save time.
And I also get the warm fuzzy feeling that I'm doing "my part" in saving the environment, reducing global warming, yada, yada, yada.
Check Energy Star for more information.
Visual Comparison of Incandescent versus Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs
Wikipedia on Compact Fluorescent light bulbs
Category: File - :Energiesparlampe 01 retouched.jpg|thumb|Tubular-type compact fluorescent lamp is one of the most popular types among European consumers.
A compact fluorescent lamp (CFL), also known as a compact fluorescent light or energy saving light (or less commonly as a compact fluorescent tube CFT), is a type of fluorescent lamp. Many CFLs are designed to replace an incandescent lamp and can fit into most existing light fixtures formerly used for incandescents.
Compared to general service incandescent lamps giving the same amount of visible light, CFLs use less power, have a longer rated life, but have a higher purchase price. In the United States, a CFL can save over 30 US$ in electricity costs over the lamp's life time compared to an incandescent lamp, and save 2,000 times its own weight in greenhouse gases. Like all fluorescent lamps, CFLs contain mercury, which complicates their disposal.
CFLs radiate a different light spectrum from that of incandescent lamps. Improved phosphor formulations have improved the subjective color of the light emitted by CFLs such that some sources rate the best 'soft white' CFLs as subjectively similar in color to standard incandescent lamps.
Kids Birthday Presents
...reduce the piles...
Many of us have been there. You invite a half dozen kids to a birthday party. Each invited person goes to a store (probably Wal Mart) and buys some excessively packaged toy, usually with multiple detachable parts and one that breaks easily. The kids have the party. After the party there is a pile of toys, a pile of wrappers, and a pile of toy packages. The kids play with the toys for a week, and then it accumulates somewhere in house, denying you the use of some of your valuable real estate.Dave & Viv are friends of mine that had a great idea. I'm not sure if they are environmentalists, but here is the idea. Invite kids for a birthday party. State that no presents are expected or wanted. They would appreciate that the giver donate to CHEO instead. Here's the upside:
- No wrapping paper and packaging to discard as landfill fodder.
- No piles of broken toys all over the floor ready to stab your feet as you walk by.
- No shopping trip to buy toys. Just an online donation.
- No piles of toys to act as landfill fodder.
As a closet environmentalist, I like this idea because it saves time and money, and it is environmentally friendly.
LED Christmas Lights
For years, it was the same routine. Buy a string of incandescent Christmas lights and hang them up in mid-November. By about mid-December go out and replace the burnt bulbs at the cost of about half a string of lights. Take them down in mid-February. Next season, test the lights, and discover it will take the cost of a string of lights to replace the burnt bulbs.This was not right, so it became more cost-effective just to throw the string of lights in the garbage in February, and buy a new string the following year. However, it didn't feel environmentally friendly.
A few years ago, LED Christmas lights came on the market. They cost about three times as much as incandescent lights and used about 10% of the power. I decided to try them as an experiment.
I was pleasantly surprised. First and foremost, I did not have to replace any of the LED lights. It also follows that I didn't have to buy a string of lights every year either. After three years of use, I spent just as much as if I had bought a new string of incandescent lights every year, but without tossing the spent string every February in the landfill. I am now on my fourth season with the same string of LED lights. I have not yet replaced any bulbs. I have not thrown out any any bulbs or strings of bulbs. This year, I still did not have to buy anything.
LED Christmas lights are great for closet environmentalists. They cost a bit more up front, but they last so long that you get more value over three years over incandescent bulbs. Also, you don't have to waste time buying and replacing burnt bulbs every year. And they only use a tenth of the power. Save money. Save time. Enjoy that warm fuzzy feeling that you're doing your part to save the environment.
Bullfrog Power
....you can get electricity from clean sources...
My friend Christina suggested that Bullfrog Power as a way to be environmental.It looks good. Here are the upsides:
- You don't have to make any capital investments. Nothing to buy, install, or maintain.
- Bullfrog Power generates clean power (e.g. wind, solar, etc) and feeds it into the electrical grid. You take power from the grid just like you do today. i.e. It reduces pollution, carbon footprint, etc.
- You don't have to change the way you use power.
- Changing power providers is like changing long distance phone companies. Easy.
This really appealed to me because it provided an opportunity to do something worthwhile environmentally without changing my lifestyle.
However for now, I will pass on Bullfrog Power. On their web site, they said that it would cost $1/day extra per home on average. Spending an extra $400/year does not appeal to me as a closet environmentalist.
I will keep my eyes on these folks and companies like them. Over time, I'm sure that they will find ways to drive down the costs. At some point it will be worth jumping over.
Front Loading Washers
A great source of savings and environmentally friendly too.
A couple of years ago, my washer was on the fritz and I was whining to a new friend. He mentioned that he had switched to a front-loading washer. I was intrigued. Why would he do that? It seemed odd, inconvenient, and pointless. He pointed out that:- Front loading washers use 2/3 the energy.
- Front loading washers use half the water.
- Front loading washers wash bigger loads.
- Clothes from front-loading washers come out drier, which allows them to dry faster in the clothes dryer, thus using less energy to dry.
The main downside is the initial cost which is often several hundred dollars more per washer, and that it takes longer to wash a particular load of clothes.
As a closet environmentalist, it was not enough to convince me to ditch my working top-loading washer. However, when my top-loading washer gives up the ghost, I will probably switch to the front loading washer because I'll save money in the long run, while feeling warm & fuzzy about helping the environment.
More Info: Front Loading Washer
Green Products on Cafe Press
Save the rainforest 2 Women's Long Sleeve Dark T-S
Buy a "Save the rain forest" T-shirt or button to make a statement and to remind other people about this important issue.
Your SUV is killing my Earth Bumper Sticker
Al Gore's film, "An Inconvenient Truth," is a MUST SEE for every citizen of this planet. The earth is fast dying and it is our shelfish insistence on driving gas-guzzling SUVs that is killing it.
Think Green 1 Sticker (Bumper)
Think green. Help save the planet. The time is now to take responsibility for our actions and change the way we think about how we treat our environment. Help spread the green word.
Environmental Movies from Netflix
Here are some of the top environmental-related movies from Netflix.
- 001- An Inconvenient Truth
Director-producer Davis Guggenheim (HBO's "Deadwood") captures former Vice President Al Gore in the midst of waging a passionate campaign -- not for the White House, but for the environment -- in this Oscar-winning documentary. Laying out the facts of global warming without getting political, Gore makes a sobering impression on the audiences who hear his message, urging them to act "boldly, quickly and wisely" ... before it's too late.- 002- March of the Penguins
Award-winning photographer Luc Jacquet takes documentary film to new heights -- and depths -- with his first feature film, a stunning insider's look at the life of emperor penguins living in one of the cruelest climates on the planet. The product of more than a year of filming on the Antarctic ice, this Oscar-winning documentary reveals never-before-captured footage of the penguins' underwater life and explores their steadfast quest for monogamy.- 003- Super Size Me
On the heels of recent lawsuits against McDonald's, director Morgan Spurlock takes a hilarious and often terrifying look at the effects of fast food on the human body, using himself as the proverbial guinea pig. For one month, Spurlock eats nothing but McDonald's, ordering everything on the menu and "super-sizing" his order whenever asked. The result is a sobering examination of the line between personal and corporate responsibility.- 004- Fahrenheit 9/11
Michael Moore's hard-hitting documentary addresses the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, outlining the reasons the United States (and, in turn, thousands of innocent Americans) became a target for hatred and terrorism. The film not only criticizes President George W. Bush's response to the attacks but also reinforces Moore's theory that the Bush Administration used the tragic event to push its own political agenda.- 005- Born Into Brothels
British filmmaker Zana Briski's Oscar-winning documentary is a portrait of several unforgettable children who live in Calcutta's red-light district, where their mothers work as prostitutes to ensure their survival. Spurred by the kids' fascination with her camera, Briski decides to teach them photography. As they begin to look at and record their world through new eyes, the kids awaken to their own talents and sense of worth.- Try Netflix free for 14 days
Great Environmental Stuff on eBay
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